All Aboard!

It's been a little weird around here lately. I've been struggling with having limited mobility, then feeling guilty about it, since it's only a temporary condition. But it's been so hot and sticky here, and having a plastic boot doesn't help. I know it could be way worse, so then I beat myself up, mentally. Not a great cycle.


I saw the doctor today and he said that there is still a pretty good chance I will need surgery to pin the bone, as this particular bone is notoriously bad at remodeling itself. Which will mean six weeks off the foot, after the surgery. Which will interfere with the start of school. And I teach on the second floor of a fifty year old building with no elevator.



But enough of all that. I'm leaving tomorrow for Arkansas, taking the train with my dad, to visit his sister. We're actually taking three different trains:


the Northeast Regional, from Newport News to Washington, DC,







the Capitol Limited, from DC to Chicago,








and the Texas Eagle, from Chicago to Texarkana, which is about halfway between Little Rock and Dallas, at least according to this map. (Click on the links for some cool information about each of the trains and their routes.)







I haven't been out there for twenty-five years, so it'll be great to visit the relatives, but more importantly, I have a unique opportunity to spend two days on the train, each way, with my dad, looking at the scenery, knitting this lovely shawl, out of some pretty, purple yarn, for my cousin, and talking. That makes me pretty lucky, despite the bum foot, wouldn't you say? Since I'm leaving the computer at home, I'll share stories and pictures when I return.